Mousse's Change of Heart
by Bruce
Summary: Mousse gets angry, and finds himself feeling differently towards Shampoo... Or is it just his temper talking? This is pasted from it's earlier postings on my own website.
1. Decisions

Mousse's Change of Heart 

Mousse's Change of Heart 

Original fan fiction by Michael Shearon 

Part 1- Decisions. 

"speech", {thoughts}, [printed words] 

Mousse woke up with a smile on his face. He had just been having the most wonderful dream about Shampoo, the girl he had loved since he was three years old. He had followed her from his native China to Nerima, Japan. Now, at age nineteen, he worked and lived in the same building as She did. Sure Mousse's life as a bus-boy was a bit hard at times, but being close to Shampoo made it all worth it. Maybe soon, she would disregard the amazon law that kept them apart. Then maybe she would tell him how she really felt about him. She couldn't have been serious all those times she said she hated him. In his dream, Shampoo had been walking beside him, smiling at him, and whispering "Wo ai ni." Mousse smiled. Whenever he had a dream like this, it usually meant it was going to be a good day. It was going to be a very good day. He just knew it. 

Mousse's train of thought was interrupted by a splash of cold water, covering his entire body. A loud squawk escaped his throat as he felt the transformation ripple through his body. Mousse shook the water from his feathers and straightened up. Where once lay a tall, lean Chinese boy, was now a large white duck. Mousse peered through his duck eyes, which were much sharper than his natural eyes, and saw Cologne perched on top of her staff, holding an overturned bucket, and Shampoo behind her, giggling. 

"Get up, Part-Time-boy. You're five minutes late. You'll find a bowl of hot water and your work clothes waiting for you in the bathroom. Now get moving, boy. You have a lot of chores to do, before we open up today." Cologne snapped at him as she started hopping out of the room. 

Mousse barely paid attention to her. His attention was on Shampoo. She was laughing at him. She found his curse… funny? Something clicked in Mousse's head, as the scenes of his life passed through his mind. With remarkable precision, he recalled every action Shampoo had ever taken towards him. He saw every blow, every kick. Heard every insult, every rejection. There were very few times that Shampoo seemed to show any sort of concern with his existence. Mousse walked numbly towards the bathroom. He found everything that Cologne had said would be there. He knocked the bowl with a wing, sending the hot water spilling all over his body. His vision blurred as he assumed his natural form. He felt around the counter for his glasses, finally found them, and slid them onto his face. He straightened out his waist-length raven hair. He put on his work clothes. Everything Mousse did was automatic. He was still replaying his life with Shampoo. Sixteen years. He had wasted sixteen years of his life chasing after her. Everything in his life had been based on Shampoo. He had taken up the hidden weapons training so he could fight her for her hand. {Fat lot of good that did me. What was the use of learning it if I could never bring myself to attack her?} 

He turned and slid open the door. There, by some cruel twist of fate, was Shampoo. She smiled up at him, "Nihao, Mousse. You feeling better, now?" she stifled a giggle as she spoke. 

Mousse stared down at her lovely face. This time, however, it was anger, not love, that came into his mind. "Out of my way, heartless woman." he said gruffly as he pushed his way past her, bumping her out of his way. Shampoo stood there, mouth hanging open. She stared after Mousse as he walked quickly down into the restaurant. What was his problem? He had never been so cold to her before, as long as she had known him. He had never shown her anything other than that stupid infatuation with her. It got annoying at times, but she really did enjoy the fact that there was a man who would do anything for her. Even if it was Mousse. Aside from that, Mousse was the closest thing to a friend she had, since she'd come to Nerima. She didn't like this new side of Mousse. She knew better than anyone that Mousse's temper was, at best, unstable. Now, that temper was directed at her. 

"Aiya. Maybe Great-grandmother go to far with wake-up call this morning." she said aloud to no one in particular as she started down towards the restaurant. {Oh well.} she thought,{it no matter. Mousse be drooling over me again by Lunch-time rush. This pass in time.} A sick feeling in her stomach told her she might be wrong. 

……………………………………………………………………………… 

All that morning, Mousse attacked every chore he was given with vengeance. He said little, not even mumbling about what a horrible place this was. This was good for Shampoo. She was already hatching a scheme to get Mousse acting normal again. There was only one thing she knew would work. There wasn't a person in the world who was more jealous than Mousse. All she had to do was flirt with a male customer, and Mousse would go into a jealous rage, and be back to his old self in no time. It wasn't like Shampoo to flirt with anyone other than Ranma, but if it meant getting her only friend back to Normal, She would do just about anything. 

So far, though, things weren't going too well for her plan. Shampoo had never realized how many ugly men lived in Nerima. No one even worth considering had walked through the door that morning. She risked a glance at Mousse. There he was, working as hard as he had all morning. He hadn't even looked at Shampoo once all that morning. Mousse was very angry, anyone with a gnat's brain could realize that. Now she was sure Great-Grandmother had gone too far that morning. Waking Mousse up with a bucket of ice water was a very bad idea. Mousse could be very dangerous when angry. He might stoop to defeating his opponents through treachery. Like Bombing the Tendo Dojo while everyone sleeps. Or worse, strike back at Cologne and Shampoo for all the times they abused him. No telling what plans Mousse was hatching right now. No telling what Mousse had up his sleeve now. Shampoo had to work quickly if she wanted to see Mousse normal again. What would she do without him? 

All Morning, Mousse had been thinking. Not about fighting Ranma, winning Shampoo's love, or any of his usual thoughts. Every single injury, whether physical or emotional, was replayed in his mind, from age three, up to that Morning. Mousse saw every detail. Slowly, with every memory, Mousse's anger grew. It started as the usual blinding rage that was so common to him, but swiftly changed into a cold anger deep inside him, numbing him to all around him. His chores went by unnoticed, even though he seemed to be focussing every iota of his attention on them. Only one thought kept repeating itself in his head, almost sounding like a mantra. {How could I have loved someone with so little heart? She calls me a friend, but treats me like this? And it took me this long to realize it? How Stupid can I be?} Every time he remembered a rejection, his heart only got colder. What had he done to deserve this abuse? How much more could he take? It didn't matter now. There would be no more chasing after Shampoo. Mousse was big enough to admit defeat. Ranma could have her. He was the only man as cold-hearted as she was. 

Mousse looked up at her, narrowing his eyes behind his glasses. She had been looking at him, but jerked her eyes away when she noticed him looking back. {Maybe she's remembering the same things I am. Good. I hope she feels sorry for all she's done to me. She deserves it.} Mousse thought as he turned back to his work. Maybe she was thinking of the few times back in the village someone had made him this angry. Perhaps she thought that now he was a danger to himself and those around him. Mousse knew why she thought that, but she had nothing to worry about now. Mousse was in complete control. 

Mousse stopped what he was doing. He had just realized something. He was thinking more clearly than he ever had before. Now that Shampoo no longer took up most of his attention, he was seeing things in a different light. {Let Ranma come, looking for a fight.} Mousse didn't know if he could beat him, but he was sure that he could give Ranma a fight he would remember. New strategies ran through his head as he scrubbed off the tables after the morning rush. He paid little attention to the few customers still eating their ramen. Ranma would sorely regret it if he came into the Nekohanten, itching for a fight to boost his ego. 

Yet, why should Mousse fight Ranma? He had no reason, now that he'd given up on Shampoo. Mousse smirked inwardly. For the past few months, ever since he had first come to Nerima, Japan, fighting Ranma had been his whole purpose for even existing. It was almost automatic for him to think of fighting Ranma. {Well, he'll have to look somewhere else to find an opponent to pummel.} Frankly, Mousse could care less about Ranma. 

Shampoo glanced over at him again. {Uh-Oh. Mousse smirking. This is no good sign. Shampoo need to find good-looking man fast, or else maybe big trouble.} Mousse may be nearly blind and stupid, but he could be very dangerous to anyone around him when he was angry. She quickly scanned the room for anyone who might fit the bill, but there was no one. Just Ugly old men, women and girls. {This may be harder than Shampoo thought. If I no find man Mousse believe I flirt with, Mousse maybe do something bad.} 

Mousse had just finished scrubbing the last unoccupied table when a young girl fell backwards in her chair, sending a large glass of cold water flying back at Mousse. Shampoo gasped, not knowing what to expect if Mousse got splashed. No telling what he'd do to the girl. Shampoo started to run towards the girl, to offer her some protection, when she saw something incredible. Mousse Jumped straight into the air, turning a graceful flip. A bucket appeared in his hand, and as he started the downward part of the flip, scooped the glass and the water from mid-air. Mousse landed in the precise spot he had jumped from, and turned around slowly to face the girl, who was laying on her back, staring up at him, eyes wide in shock and wonder. Mousse set the bucket down, and with surprising lack of emotion, said "You should be more careful." He straightened up, and noticed Shampoo with the same expression on her face. "Shouldn't you be working? Or is there another reason you make so much more than I do?" With that, he turned to go sit down, the last chore he had been given completed. 

"Mousse?" 

"What do you want?" he snapped. He was so cold to her. 

"nothing." She said sadly. Now she knew what was wrong with him. He hated her. Mousse hated her. She had pushed away the only friend she had since coming to Nerima. She knew that if she didn't do something to make Mousse jealous, he would leave, forever. She didn't want him to leave. She wanted Mousse to stay. He was the only person she could talk to about anything. Great-Grandmother wasn't very keen on talking about daily life or feelings. Shampoo found herself wishing that Ranma hadn't gone on a weekend training trip with his father. No one made Mousse more jealous than Ranma. 

Just then, Shampoo's silent requests were answered. a reasonably attractive man, close to her own age, walked into the Nekohanten. Shampoo didn't like to flirt with a stranger, but she had to, if she wanted to keep her friend. She knew what she had to do. This was the only way she knew to keep Mousse around, or else just find out how he truly felt. 

"Nihao, handsome. Welcome to the Nekohanten." Shampoo's light Soprano took on a sultry, seductive tone as she laid on all of her charm. "Can Shampoo get you something? Maybe her phone number?" she said with a wink. She felt herself inwardly gagging. She hoped Mousse appreciated what she was doing for him. She hated lowering herself like this, but if this was what she had to do for Mousse, she would do it. 

Shampoo and the man flirted for few minutes. She caught a glimpse of Mousse picking up a tray, loaded with dishes. Shampoo had been barely avoiding flinching from the moldy pick-up lines, when he asked "How does a Gorgeous Chick like you not have a Boyfriend?" 

Again, Shampoo barely avoided gagging. "You no should worry if Shampoo have Boyfriend. He out of town, and he no treat her right anyway. Shampoo need some company for the night. You interested?" 

The loud crash behind her brought a smile to her lips. "That's it," came an icy voice from behind her. "I can't stand it anymore!" 

{Yep, It work.} Shampoo turned around, expecting to see Mousse, fuming with anger, holding some strange weapon in his hand, ready to kill the man she was flirting with. Instead, She saw Mousse walking with slow, measured steps towards the stairway. She ran after him, grabbing him by the shoulder just as he started to climb the steps. "Aiya, Stupid, where you think you going? It no even lunchtime rush, yet!" She gasped as a cold ripple passed through her hand where she touched Mousse. 

A bright blue light enveloped his body as he jerked his Shoulder away from her. His body spun around before she could react to it. Shampoo's cheek exploded in pain as the back of Mousse's clenched fist connected. The force of the blow sent her spinning into the nearby wall. She collapsed to the floor in a crumpled heap as she put her hand to her cheek. She turned her wide, violet eyes up at him. His entire body was glowing with Icy blue energy as he glared down at her. He lifted his glasses so she could see his eyes. She would have gasped if she could. She had only seen them like that only once before. After he had returned from China to challenge Ranma a second time. After he had been beaten to the point of unconsciousness, and beyond. Just before he had fainted. His eyes now glowed with the same cold, blue light. 

"And to think I believed that somewhere, under all the insults and abuse, you cared for me. Apparently, I rank below total strangers in your book. I can't believe I actually LOVED you!" 

With that, Mousse spun on his heels and walked quickly up the stairs. Shampoo couldn't move. She just sat there, on the floor holding her cheek, as what Mousse had said sank in. {'Loved'. He say 'Loved'. As in, no love anymore.} Mousse did hate her. No one had ever been that cold to her, least of all Mousse. Now he was leaving her. 

A minute or so later, Shampoo was still on the floor, staring up the empty stairwell when Mousse came around the corner, dressed in his white robe and carrying his travel bag. In his right hand, he carried a small white object. He brushed past her, not even looking down at her. His body still had the faint glow of his battle aura. Mousse stopped in front of the door to the kitchen, and drew back his right hand to throw. {Aiya! Mousse going to kill Great-Grandmother!} but there was nothing she could do. Her body refused to move. All she could do was sit there and watch. 

Cologne was perched atop her staff, preparing the kitchen for the lunchtime rush. She disregarded the blow, as it was probably Shampoo teaching Mousse a lesson for dropping the tray of dishes. Her battle senses clicked to ready as she heard a small object flying through the air high above her head. It impacted on the wall, and floated down into her waiting hand. It was an envelope. 

"Open it," Said Mousse from behind her. she saw her name scrawled in Chinese, in Mousse's handwriting. 

"Goodbye, Cologne. You will find enough money to replace the damage I caused today." 

"And where do you think you are going, boy?" She turned as she reached for the bucket of water next to her. She hesitated when she saw Mousse's battle aura flashing its cold energy. This was new. {Oh well,} she thought as she reached for the bucket without taking her eyes off Mousse. There was a loud crack, Causing Cologne to blink. When she turned her eyes to check the location of the bucket, it was gone. 

"Looking for this?" said Mousse in an empty voice. She turned to look at him again, and openly stared at him in astonishment. His Travelling bag was on the floor, and a whip was retracting into his sleeve. In his other hand, he held the bucket. Mousse had never been that fast before. "You might want to take care of your great-granddaughter's cheek. She's going to have a nasty bruise." He said in a chilling voice as he tossed the bucket towards the stairwell. Cologne followed it's path with her eyes, and saw Shampoo, sitting on the floor, holding a swollen and discolored cheek. The bucket hit above her, and spilled its contents all over her, shocking a screech out of her. The little lavender cat shook the water from its fur, looked around for Mousse, than ran towards him. With a look of disgust, he picked Shampoo up, and tossed her away. Mousse turned and walked out of the restaurant, sliding the door shut behind him. Cologne ripped open the envelope, and read what was inside. There, she found two words written in Chinese. 

[I quit] 

End Part one. 

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	2. Confrontations

Author's Note: Hello, there, readers. I want to say thank you to everyone that has read and responded to part one. Your Emails have been very influential in the construction of this chapter of "Mousse's Change of Heart." I was unaware that there was an entire genre of 'Duck boy looses it and kicks ass'. Therefore, I am taking a different direction, and paying more attention to the characters reactions to Mousse's actions. This chapter may be a bit longer, but I'm taking my time in this one. Again, thank you, all those who responded, even negatively. Your Emails have made the largest impact on this chapter. As before, "means talking," Means thoughts, means written text. Also, I do not know very much about the Japanese culture, so if I get something grievously wrong, I apologize for that as well. Now, with that out of the way, On with chapter two of my story.

Mousse's Change of Heart

Original fan fiction by Michael Shearon

Chapter Two: Confrontations

Ryouga Hibiki wandered around Nerima, as usual. He knew he was lost, but just kept on walking. He was feeling particularly starved. "But where can I eat?" he asked himself as he spun a slow circle, hoping to spot a restaurant of some sort. Apparently Luck was on his side. For he was standing right in front of the Nekohanten, shortly before the lunchtime rush. He walked inside, knowing that if he didn't eat now, it would be hours before he found a place to eat again. He walked in, brushing a lock of dark hair from his eyes as he spotted a table near the kitchen. Just as he was about to sit down, he noticed the pile of broken dishes in front of the kitchen door. He heard Shampoo yelling at Mousse.  
"Where you think you going? Is no even lunch-time rush yet!" This was odd. Mousse going somewhere? That blind duck always wanted to be by Shampoo's side. Why would he be going anywhere?

(WHAP!!!!)(Thud!)

Ryouga jumped up at the sound of the punch. He ran in its direction, and saw Shampoo lying on the ground, with Mousse's hand moving slowly down to his side. Mousse's body was letting off a bright battle aura as he stared down at Shampoo. "And to think I believed that somewhere, under all the insults and abuse, you cared for me. Apparently, I rank below total strangers in your book. I can't believe I actually LOVED you!" Loved? Mousse didn't love Shampoo anymore? There was only one reason.

Mousse is Possessed!!! It was the only answer. He remembered when the ogre had gotten hold of Kasumi and himself. If it could make Mousse hit Shampoo, and stop loving her, What would it have him do to the people he didn't even like to begin with? Ryoga shuddered at the thought. Ranma had to know about this. Mousse hated Ranma more than anyone and he would most likely be the target of some underhanded, sneaky attack. Like a large bomb in the Tendo Dojo late at night. That might get Akane hurt. Damn you, Mousse, I won't let you hurt Akane! With that thought Ryouga ran out the door into the street, his only thought, finding the Dojo. Unfortunately, he went the exact opposite direction he should have.

Later that day…

Shampoo walked slowly up the stairs, her eyes narrowed to angry slits. How dare that stupid Mousse! He hit SHampoo, without even a challenge! And here Shampoo was, trying to help him go back to normal. She could feel the heat rising off of her body, as she walked up into Mousse's room. She saw it was mostly as it had been yesterday. Hardly anything was gone. Nothing except Mousse, some clothes, and his traveling bag. With a scream, she grabbed the calendar off of his wall. "Aiiiiiiiiyah! Stupid Mousse! Shampoo hope you never come back!" Any decoration he had up was quickly and mercilessly torn down and shredded. Her bonbori smashed his favorite decoration, a small statue of a Dragon he had had since childhood. She kicked over the dressing screen and tore it apart with her bare hands. All the while, screaming like a wild woman. "Shampoo HATE you! Hate you! Shampoo wish you never come from China, you blind, stupid WEAKLING!" She kept on destroying his possessions, using whatever she could put her hands on. She stumbled over to Mousse's table, where he usually brought his food when he was feeling sorry for himself, and kicked it over. The momentum of the kick spun her around, and she collapsed to the floor, exhausted. She looked around at the destruction, seeing nothing intact. Nothing except a small picture frame laying face down on the floor next to what was left of his bedside table. She crawled over to it, not wanting anything that had belonged to Mousse to survive the day intact. She reached down and picked up the frame and turned over. It was the picture Ranma had agreed to take of the Nekohanten staff. Mousse was standing off to the side, wearing a very strained smile on his face. Shampoo and Cologne were standing together, with Shampoo looking as cute as she could for Ranma. The picture was undamaged except for one thing. The crack in the glass ran from top to bottom, right between Mousse and Shampoo. She felt the tears burning in her eyes. She closed her eyes as she pressed the picture up to her chest. "Stupid Mousse," she said as the tear slid down her face.

Mousse wandered around Nerima, unsure of what to do next. He wasn't sure, but he thought he had seen Ryouga Hibiki a few times, running at full speed. He kept thinking about what he could do now. I have no place to stay, no job, no money. Where can I go? Suddenly, Mousse remembered something that his teacher had told him the day before he left to find Shampoo.

"Boy, if you ever give up on that damned fool infatuation with Shampoo, open this box. It will have some instructions on what you should do then. I know I can't stop you, boy, but you really should give up on her. She doesn't want you."

Mousse reached into his sleeve and pulled out a fairly large box. He removed the top and peered inside. The first thing he noticed was the small glass box, containing about twenty or more slim, black darts. He picked it up and opened it, examining one of the darts. It was long and sleek, perfectly balanced, and almost invisible in the dimming light. Mousse aimed at a nearby tree and threw it. If it made any noise whatsoever, Mousse's sharp ears never heard it. He looked at a long note, written in his master's fast scrawl:

It's about time you opened this box. You are now ready to make the next step to truly becoming the master of hidden weapons. In the large box, you will find some things that might come in handy. First, you will find a Master's robe, fully stocked. It is sized very large, so no matter how big you are when you open the box, you will be able to wear the marks of the master. Also you will find some scrolls, detailing what you need to know to do the ultimate attack of the master of hidden weapons: The Total Arsenal Wave. Since I won't be there to teach it to you, I wrote them so you could learn it by only reading. Another thing you will find is a practice dummy, with a scroll detailing the pressure points useful in battle. These are the 'whisper darts'. You would do well to keep them ready at all times. They are constructed to fly swift and silent. If you can't put two and two together here, I chose the wrong student. Use them well. They might make the difference between victory and Death. Also remember, The true warrior does not merely hold the weapon. The weapon is an extension of his body, another arm, another leg. You are the weapon. This is the heart of the hidden weapon technique. Make me proud, son.

Mousse found the large mannequin, the size of a normal human male. In seemingly random places on its body, arms, and legs, it had a mark. Then Mousse noticed the placement of some of these marks. "Those are the places where the bird-man threw those feather darts. Those must be the points of paralysis." Mousse reached into the box and pulled out the scrolls and the robe. The latter, he inspected very closely. It was pure black silk, finely woven, and embroidered in the middle of the chest with the diamond design that graced his white robe. The sleeves ended in yellow cuffs. Also with the Robe was a pair of blood red pants. They were also made of the same fine silk as the robe. Mousse looked around the park, before walking into a small thicket of trees. A few minutes later, Mousse walked out, his old robe draped over his arm, the new one looking like it had just been made for him. His new robes fit him perfectly. He sat down where he had set the scrolls and began with the first of the five, smiling as he looked at the familiar writing of his master. It would not take him long to master this new technique. The smile of recognition quickly turned grim as he saw what the technique actually was. He started reading the text quickly, absorbing every detail. A low chuckle escaped Mousse's throat as the lamppost over his head flickered to life.

The next morning…

Ukyou Kuonji stood outside of her restaurant. She smiled as she read the name, "Ucchan's Okonomiyaki" on the sign near the door. She held the curtain in her hand, leaning on the pole as she got ready to open for business. Not like I need to open today. I saw so much business yesterday, I made enough for the next couple of days. From what I heard from my customers, the Nekohanten was closed before the lunchtime rush. Something about a fight between the employees, or something like that. That Mousse. When is he going to learn? She thought with a grin. She was just about to hang the curtain up, when she heard something strange.

"UKYOUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ryouga shouted as he ran up to her, skidding to a stop right in front of her. He sagged to his knees, panting and coughing for breath. Ukyou had never seen him looking so exhausted. He looked up at her, still panting, "Ukyou… I cough, pant need your wheeze help… Mousse… uuhnn…" as he started to collapse and sag to the ground. He was unconscious. Ukyou sighed as she propped him up against her body.

"Ryouga, you can be such a pain in the fanny sometimes. I have a business to run, and I'm going to have to watch you while I handle the morning rush. I'll just put you somewhere I can keep an eye on you while I handle my customers." she carried him into the restaurant and laid him back in the pantry area, looking at him laying there, I wonder what he wanted to tell me about Mousse that was so important. Oh well, At least he's not going on about how he wants to kill Ranma-honey. You have to admit, Ukyou, the guy may be a pain, but he is kinda cute. But he sure isn't any Ranma. She turned to the counter to wait for her customers to start filing in.

Meanwhile, at the Nekohanten…

Cologne sat staring angrily at her great granddaughter. She had destroyed Mousse's room yesterday, but after she had found that picture, she just sat there, looking like she actually missed him. Cologne was glad to get Mousse out from under her roof. The boy kept trying to foil her plans to get Son-in-law and Shampoo together. The boy had no respect for their ancient laws and customs. It was good that he was gone. But why was it that he was able to catch her off guard a second time? He had only done so once before, when he had snatched the Contrary Jewel from her fingers, ruining a perfect plan to get Son-in-law to marry Shampoo. And where did that battle aura come from? Mousse had never had an aura worth a second glance. It was a mystery, and Cologne had never much liked mysteries. "Great-granddaughter, you have been sitting there all night. Do you not want any breakfast? We may have quite a bit of business, since we were hardly open at all yesterday."  
"Shampoo no is hungry, Great-grandmother," the girl said sadly. She was still staring at the picture and it's cracked glass.

"What is wrong, child? You should be glad that that annoying Mousse has finally realized that the two of you are not meant to be together. There will be no more trouble from him."

"Great-grandmother, Mousse was Shampoo friend. I no care what he do to try to get between Ranma and Shampoo. He never beat Ranma, no matter how hard he try. But Shampoo no have one friend in Nerima. Ranma no really like Shampoo, because Shampoo turn into kitty. Everyone else hate Shampoo, except for Kasumi, and she think everyone nice. Mousse only one who really care about Shampoo. He only one who want Shampoo be happy. Shampoo no love him, but Shampoo going to miss him."

Cologne was a bit surprised at her great-granddaughter's words, but did not say anything as she hopped back down to the kitchen to prepare for whatever customers may come in. Apparently Mousse is not the only one capable of foolishness.

A few hours later, near lunchtime, a groan came from the pantry of Ucchan's Okonomiyaki. Ukyou walked back, and knelt down next to Ryouga, who was rubbing his head, and leaning back against the wall. "You feeling better, sugar? You looked like you'd been running for a long time."  
Ryouga looked around, blinking in that usual confused expression of his, "Uh, Hi, Ukyou. Where am I?" His voice was a little hoarse.

"Come on up front, I'll get you some tea. On the house." She led him into the front of the building, and sat him down in front of the counter. Ryouga's expression never really changed from confused. After a few minutes, he asked, "How did I get in that room?"

"I put you there after you fainted out front this morning," she said with a wry looking smile. She set the cup down in front of him. "So what were you going to tell me about Mousse?"

Ryouga's eyes went wide and he jumped up, grabbing Ukyou's arm. He ran out of the restaurant, dragging her along as if she were nothing more than a toy to him. "C'mon, Ukyou! We've gotta find Ranma! There might be trouble!"

Ukyou sighed as she saw the direction they were running. I wonder if he would listen to me if I told him he is heading the wrong way. Too bad I never got a chance to grab my spatula…

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Nerima…

Mousse stood up and stretched. It had been a long time since he had spent the night outside. His muscles and joints were stiff, but it was nothing a few katas couldn't fix. He practiced his routines, kicking and punching at imaginary targets. Every time his hands and feet darted out, there appeared a weapon, sometimes short, sometimes long, sometimes small, and sometimes large. Soon, he felt all the kinks worked out. He sighed as he adjusted his robe. "I do not see any point in staying around this town any longer. I might as well leave." He picked up his travelling bag, tossed it over his shoulder, and headed out of the park.

Ranma Saotome lay back on the small porch and looked up at the sky. Ah, Finally, a nice, quiet weekend, with no chance Shampoo will drop in. Everyone thinks me and Pop are gone on some kinda training trip. This weekend couldn't be any better. he smiled to himself as he felt the sun shining down on his face.

"RANMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Ranma groaned as he sat up. I knew it wouldn't last. Ranma walked over to the wall, jumped up on top, and watched as Ryouga ran down the street, hauling Ukyou by the wrist. Ranma jumped out and landed right on top of Ryouga's head, smashing his face into the pavement. "You want somethin'?"

A muffled voice came out from under Ranma's feet, and it didn't sound at all happy. Ranma moved just as Ryouga jerked his head up, "Damn you, Ranma, I was coming to give you a warning!" Ryouga narrowed his eyes and stood up. "I should just let Mousse blow your stupid hide to the moon."

"Ummm, Ryouga, what are you talking about?" Ranma's face looked very confused.

Ryouga related his tale of how Mousse hit Shampoo, including the detail of how Mousse -must- be possessed. He also told them that he'd seen Mousse a few times while he was trying to find Ranma. Ranma had his arms folded as he looked at Ryouga like the idiot he usually is. Ryouga finished his story with, "Ranma, we need to find him before anyone gets hurt. If he would hit -Shampoo-, someone he loves more than anyone else on this planet, including himself, what would he do to someone he already hates?"

For once the idiot made a little bit of sense. Ranma wasn't worried, of course, but he somehow had the same picture that Ryouga had. Late at night, Mousse sneaks into the living room, and leaves another one of those huge bombs like the one he chained to Ranma's ankle. Without anyone knowing about it, the Dojo explodes. What would happen to Akane?

"Alright, you may have a point Ryouga. That blind idiot might hurt somebody." Ranma said, not letting on any of his concerns for Akane.

"Maybe we should find him, and see what his side of the story is." suggested Ukyou, looking from Ranma, to Ryouga. They all nodded, and decided to go by the Nekohanten and talk to Shampoo and Cologne and see if there was somewhere Mousse liked to go. They all set off immediately for the Nekohanten. Ranma rolled his eyes and said, "So much for my quiet weekend."

Shampoo sat a table and idly stirred her ramen with her chopsticks. Her face was still sore, and badly bruised from where Mousse had hit her. What did she do? Didn't Mousse have enough sense to know when she was being serious, and when she was just playing? Didn't he have ANY sense of humor? Shampoo would never go out with any man other than Ranma. And Mousse couldn't realize it. The worst part was, the jerk had come back a little while ago, asking when they could go out on their date. Shampoo turned around, narrowed her eyes, and shouted out, "Shampoo never date stupid, ugly, moron like you!" and proceeded to introduce his face and other choice locations on his body to her bonbori. Beating up the little jerk that got her into this mess didn't make her feel any better. Then she heard a voice that made her day.

"Yo, Shampoo."

"Aiya! Ranma! You home early from training trip!" as she jumped up and into Ranma's arms, hugging him fiercely.

"Uh, yeah, um, that's it, I came home early. heh-heh." Ranma was glad Shampoo was to busy hugging him to see how obvious his lie was. He then started trying to push her away, "Will you leggo of me! I wanted to ask you somethin' about Mousse. We heard he left, and we wanna know if there's some place he'd go."

Shampoo got up, turned around and crossed her arms, "Shampoo no want to talk about Mousse. Stupid leave, and Shampoo could no be happier." What she didn't realize, was that the way she had turned made the bruise on her cheek very obvious.

"Whoa, Where'd ya get that bruise?" came Ranma's Shocked voice. Shampoo raised a hand to her cheek, feeling the exact spot where Mousse had punched her. She hadn't looked in a mirror since yesterday. Now that she felt it, that place definitely felt sore. She picked up a small napkin dispenser, and looked at her reflection. She almost gasped when she saw how big of a bruise Mousse had given her.

"Shampoo no know that Mousse able to hit so hard…" as she ran her fingers over the dark purple place on her cheek.

"So Mousse was the one who hit you? Why did he do that?" asked Ukyou, still not quite able to understand what had happened.

"Shampoo no know…" she said in her most innocent voice, "All Shampoo know is that one minute, Shampoo helping customer, then Mousse throw down tray, and storm upstairs. Shampoo go to stop him, and he hit Shampoo. Shampoo Glad he gone."

"What did Mousse mean when he said, 'Apparently I rank below total strangers in your book?'" asked Ryouga, crossing his arms, and suspecting that Shampoo was not telling them everything. He got even more evidence of that when he saw her visibly wince at his words.

"Ryouga heard that?" she asked nervously.

"Yes I did. I happened to drop by here around lunchtime yesterday. Care to tell us the whole story now?" he said, tapping a finger on his arm. Shampoo lowered her head a little, and nodded.

"It start yesterday morning. Shampoo go with Great-Grandmother to wake Mousse up. He sleep late. Great-grandmother splash Mousse to wake him up. Shampoo think it funny, so she laugh a little…"

"Doesn't sound funny to me," said Ranma as he sat down in a nearby chair. Shampoo blushed a bit, getting embarrassed.

"Well, Shampoo no mean to, it just happen… anyway, When Shampoo check on Mousse later, he get angry, and stomp down to restaurant like spoiled little child."

"I don't blame him for getting mad. I mean, Jeez, couldn't ya have tried saying, 'wake up, Mousse,' first?" Ranma asked impatiently. He had been awakened by an unwanted cold shower too many times not to sympathize with Mousse just a little.

"Erk… um… can Shampoo finish?" She said looking at the trio of serious faces looking at her. She didn't think things would be going so bad for her when she told everyone what Mousse had done. "Later, Shampoo try to snap Mousse back to normal by making him jealous. It always work before… so Shampoo flirt with someone she never met before. Mousse get mad, and go to leave. Shampoo try to stop him, and he hit her…"

"I would have done the same thing. Shampoo, that is probably the meanest thing I have ever heard of anyone ever doing to someone who loves them. How could you possibly think that this would make Mousse go back to normal? If anything, it would push him farther away from you!" Everyone blinked at Ryouga's words. Everyone except Shampoo. She was trying to meet Ryouga's hard glare, but couldn't through her tear filled eyes. "I am surprised it took Mousse this long to leave in the first place!"

"You think Shampoo no know that now? Shampoo no want to push Mousse away. You no need to tell me that. Please… If you find Mousse, tell him Shampoo is sorry…" With that, she turned around, and ran back up the stairs, sobbing loudly.

"Man, I didn't think she'd act like that…" said Ukyou as they all watched the Chinese girl disappear up the stairs. "I knew she was mean to Mousse, but I didn't think even she would go that far… Think we should keep looking for him?"

"I dunno." Ranma said as they turned around and walked out of the restaurant. "I mean, If Mousse wants to leave, who are we to stop him?"

"You have a point, Ranchan, but still, shouldn't we hear what he has to say about it? Maybe Shampoo was just playing with us, to get us on her side." said Ukyou, looking suspiciously back into the Nekohanten.

"Let's Find Mousse. I want hear his side of the story. Plus I have to make sure that he isn't possessed."

Ranma and Ukyou rolled their eyes at Ryouga as they set off in search of Mousse.

Somehow, Ryouga got separated from Ranma and Ukyou. He wandered around what he hoped was Nerima for more than an Hour, before finding himself outside the Tendo Dojo. Ryouga didn't notice as he wandered around the house, calling out occasionally, "Mousse!" Akane saw him, and wondered what he was doing, and decided to follow him. Later, outside the dojo, Kunou saw them, and wondered what they were up to, and decided to follow them. In a matter of thirty minutes, Ryouga was walking around, calling out for Mousse, followed by half of Nerima's martial arts population, including Shampoo and Cologne.

Now why lost boy want find Mousse? Shampoo have to see. Maybe Ryouga get lucky for once and actually find what he looking for...

Later, that evening, Mousse had just now reached the edge of town. He looked up at the sun setting right before his eyes. He sighed. "I might as well start thinking of how I will get back to China. I have nowhere else to go…" He looked sadly at the sign that said, You have now left Nerima. "It is time I left this place. Although I will have some good memories. Like the way Shampoo smiled at me when she asked me to perform a magic show at the Christmas party. -sigh-" he looked off into space for a minute, and then his face hardened, "But there is nothing here for me now. I have to leave." As soon as he said these words to himself, the streetlight over his head suddenly winked to life. Mousse smirked as he looked up at it.

"Perhaps this is an omen. Maybe now my life can have some light in it, instead of all the darkness I have put up with up until now." Mousse didn't notice the figure standing on top of that light pole.

"Geez, Mousse, are you tuning into Kuno?"

"Ranma Saotome. Somehow I knew I couldn't leave this town without running into you one last time."

"So what's the deal? Why did you hit Shampoo?"

"Call it revenge." Mousse said with a shrug.

"For what?" Ranma asked, a little surprised at how calm Mousse was being around him. Usually, Mousse was wanting Ranma's head mounted on a spear by now.

"For sixteen years of pure torture, for no other reason than I would not give up. Now I have. Shampoo does not love me, and I, frankly, could not care less. I was going to leave anyway, but she tried to stop me. I just… snapped." Ranma didn't like how calm and level Mousse's voice was.

"So what are you gonna do now?" Ranma asked, trying to change the subject.

"Go home to China. Improve on my tactics, and then perhaps return here, to see just who the better Martial artist truly is…" Mousse said, his eyes hidden as they usually were behind his unnaturally thick glasses. His face was as unreadable as the mask he had worn when he thought he had kidnapped Akane.

"Hey, whaddaya mean by that?"

"I mean, I wonder which of us is truly better? You, or me, now that I no longer fight blindly, hoping to win Shampoo's affections." he said calmly.

"So why wait? Let's go, right now!" Ranma shouted angrily. He wanted to make Mousse pay for thinking he could ever be better than he was.

"Why?"

Ranma blinked confusedly. "Huh?"

"I have no reason to fight you now. And if I did happen to actually get lucky and beat you," he paused to let Ranma stop laughing. " Then Shampoo would have to be engaged to me. Believe me, now that I've seen what she's really like, That's something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy." Mousse said with a scowl.

"Mousse, What's got into you?" Ranma was staring at him, wide eyed.

"The truth, for once. I saw how manipulative and fickle Shampoo truly is. Whatever feelings I had for her are long gone. Now, will you kindly move out of my way, so I can leave this town once and for all?" Mousse said, trying to push past Ranma.

"Whoa… You still didn't tell me why you hit her." he said grabbing onto mousse's Sleeve, but strangely, only feeling Mousse's arm, not the massive arsenal of chains and various other items hidden there, just beyond sight.

"Because she deserved it!" Mousse shouted as he uppercutted Ranma up into the streetlight.

Ranma dropped to the ground, shook his head, and then assumed a battle stance, "Alright Mousse. You made the first move. Now we don't have to wait for you to get back from China to see how much better than you I am."

"I told you before I do not want to fight you. "

"Well that's too bad, because I want to fight YOU!" Ranma said as he leaped at Mousse. Mousse jumped to the side, avoiding Ranma's attack. Mousse folded his hands into his sleeves, crossing them in front of his chest.

"Saotome, Remember. You were the one who issued this challenge." as he continually dodged Ranma's rage filled attacks. What Ranma didn't know, was who Mousse had seen running up from behind.

"RANMAAAAAA!!!!!" 

"Huh? Akan-ARGH!!!!" His question was cut off as more then half a dozen slim black darts seemed to appear in his paralysis points.

"Now, Saotome, You will know what it feels like to LOSE!" as he jumped towards Ranma, kicking and punching him in seemingly Random places. Mousse smirked to himself as he saw Ranma's muscles bunching. "Oh, No, Saotome. This attack was used on me once… and even I could counter it. Therefore, I know what to look for." as he proceeded to jab at Ranma's pain points with various small blunt objects. Every time Mousse's hands darted out at Ranma, a different weapon was attached. Suddenly, when Ranma was on the verge of collapse, Mousse was suddenly gone. Ranma managed to roll his eyes until he found Mousse standing on top of the same light pole he had uppercutted Ranma into.

"Saotome, Now this fight ends." Mousse's body started to take on a blue glow, that slowly got brighter. Ranma recognized it. Oh, no. I gotta move , I gotta move, I gotta move, I gotta move, I…

"RAKING HAWK'S TALONS!!!" Came Mousse's yell, as his body came streaking down at Ranma. There, on the tip of Mousse's Shoes, were thos dark metal claws, glinting darkly as Mousse descended. Ranma managed to bunch his muscles enough to force the darts out, but it was simply too late. Mousse's feet buried themselves in Ranma's chest, knocking both Ranma's breath, and the last of his strength from his body. Ranma flew backwards, and landed right in front of the large crowd that had gathered and saw the entire fight, and Ranma lose to Mousse. Mousse stood there, adjusted his robe, and calmly said, "Thank you, Akane Tendo. You have helped me defeat Ranma. If you had not yelled when you did, I could never have taken advantage of his distraction."

"Why… you…" Akane started as she moved towards Mousse, in a rage even blinder than Ranma's. Mousse casually caught her fist in a claw grab, and said, "Akane, I do not hold any grudges against you. Ranma issued the challenge, lost his focus on the fight, and lost the fight. It was as simple as that." Mousse said evenly. He quickly jumped back to avoid the left hook that she had just thrown at his face. He said, "Now, will you people let me leave in peace?"

A mass of angry voices came from the crowd, "You knocked out my son… my future son-in-law… No one but the Great Blue Thunder is worthy to fight the wicked Saotome… You cheated!… Let's get him… How dare you hit my Ranchan?!"

One voice in particular caught Mousse's ears. "Ayiah! Ranma! What Happen to him? why he have… Mousse's… shoes… Oh no…"

"Yes, Shampoo. I did Beat him, but don't worry. I wouldn't marry you if you begged me. I do not love you. You are the most manipulative…" Shampoo started flinching as Mousse drew closer to her, pointing at her, and raising his voice, "Sadistic, empty headed, empty-hearted, moronic Bimbo I have ever had the misfortune to MEET! You should have fallen into the Jusenkyo Spring of drowned DOG, because it would have FIT your PERSONALITY, SO much better. I never want to see you again Shampoo. EVER!" By now, Mousse was screaming at her, and Shampoo was on the verge of tears. He turned around, picked up his travelling bag, and went to leave. What he had forgotten about, was the mob of people that wanted to hurt him for hurting Ranma. His memory was refreshed, however, when he heard, "GET HIM!!!"

Mousse turned around, narrowed his eyes at them and said, "You all hate me so much, then let me leave!"

"Not until you pay, villian!" came Kuno's Voice above the crowd.

"Then feel the foolishness of your attack. Hidden Weapons Technique, Ultimate Finishing Move: Total Arsenal WAAAAAAAAAVE!!!" Mousse cast his arms forward, and the crowd ground to a sudden halt. To say that the wall of metal careening towards them was huge would have been the understatement of the year. Every chain, every blade, every blunt weapon, every spear, everything in Mousse's Robes came flying out at them, some turned and ran, some stayed and attempted to fight it off, while others were stunned into a sort of paralysis by the sheer magnitude of weapons that seemed to just come out of thin air. Shortly, everyone who had moved to attack Mousse, who had not retreated immediately, was wrapped, almost head to toe, in chains of varying lengths and weights. Not a single person could stand. The only people still standing on that small road were Akane, who was too stunned to speak, or even move, Shampoo, on her knees, and crying, and Cologne, who was eyeing Mousse in a strange, calculating manner.

Mousse made his way through the groaning crowd, gathering up his weapons, and hiding them up his sleeves again. After about half an hour, he had gathered up just about everything, when he encountered Cologne.

"You know what you must do, Son-in-law, You know the law. You beat Ranma, so now you must marry my Shampoo."

"Cologne, I want that as much as Shampoo does. She hates me, and I frankly don't like her. She has hurt me too many times for me to forget it and go on in blissful ignorance. Maybe once, I would have given my very soul to hear those words, but now, I dread them as Much as Ranma does. There is no way I will marry her now."

"Are you saying that you are blatantly disregarding the law of the Amazons?" Cologne's diminutive form flared with her battle aura, and Mousse quickly stepped back.

"All I am saying is, I need time. Just give me a little while to sort out my feelings, and then I will return with my answer. But do not try to look for me, for not even I know where I will be. Goodbye Cologne, and thank you for putting up with me as long as you have." Mousse threw his hand down. in a small flash of light, smoke and sound, Mousse was gone. Cologne looked up at the sky, and screamed.

"HE DID IT AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

End Chapter 2


	3. A New Beginning for All

Hello, everyone. Here's part 3. Hope you enjoy… and sorry for the delay. Explanations for it are at the end. As before, "means talking," Means thoughts, means written text. Now, with that out of the way, On with chapter two of my story.

Mousse's Change of Heart

Original Fan fiction by Michael Shearon

Chapter 3: A New beginning for all.

Ryouga tossed and turned as the memories rushed over him. First, Mousse's attack, the total arsenal wave, had caught everyone off guard. Everyone knew that he was the master of hidden weapons, but that move taught them all what that meant. Ryouga had been one of the few who had stood up to the move, trying to fight their way in to Mousse, trying to get the revenge that they had sought to get from Ranma. No one knew why… it was just what seemed appropriate. Mousse let fly with an attack that no one ever expected to see the like of… The Total Arsenal Wave. A pure wall of weapons and whatnot came flying at them all. Ryouga had stood his ground, blocking what he could, dodging what he couldn't. But soon, the weapons were too thick, and he was pelted by multiple chains. Then he noticed the large metal ball on a direct course with him. He ignored the cries of pain around him, and focused on that one thing, among the rest. He screamed, "BAKUSAI TENKETSU!" and jabbed a finger at it, shattering it into billions of pieces. That attack had served him many times before. This time, however it was his undoing. The shrapnel from the Iron ball caused chains and other items around him to converge on him. He tried to keep himself free, but the chains just encircled him. Before he could gain control of the situation, he was bound head to toe. Unfortunately, he fell over right into a large puddle of water. Even more unfortunate, was the fact that Akane was in perfect view of him, and looking right at him falling. With a loud splash, Ryouga felt the chains go limp around him. And he knew exactly what had happened. He had become P-Chan, Akane's pet pig, and the most embarrassing part of his life. He wriggled free, and saw Akane's shocked expression… and she was looking right at him. "P-Chan… Where's… Ryouga? Oh my God…. Ryouga is P-Chan!" The scream was the worst thing he had ever heard… because he knew all chances with her had ended with one resounding… splash.

Ryouga sat bolt upright in the hospital bed, and immediately regretted it. His head was still in a great deal of pain from earlier. Mousse had left almost a week ago. Ryouga and Ukyou were the only ones still hospitalized. They were both nearest to Mousse when he released his attack, so were in the thickest amount of weapons.

"Lemme guess, Ryouga. You had the dream again," came the slightly sarcastic voice of Ukyou. She was still waiting for release for the concussion she had, in addition to the broken leg. She'd be all right in no time, but Dr. Tofu didn't want her to exert herself.

"Yeah… I just can't figure it out… How did it work? How was MOUSSE of all people able to defeat half the martial artists in Nerima in one move? He even beat Ranma down. I just can't figure it out."

"Well, don't strain yourself. We were kinda stupid… I mean, the guy was just trying to leave… and everyone in town was trying to keep him where he was most miserable. Personally, I hope Mousse is happy."

Ryouga looked down as he realized Ukyou was right. He began wondering what he was going to do with his life now.

Mousse looked around the Chinese street he was standing on. The air smelled different. the ground felt different… And then he figured out why. He was home. Home again after so long. He was also… broke. It had taken his last bit of money, and a good deal of haggling, to secure his seat on the freighter headed for Hong Kong. He stood on the street corner, and started thinking, idly pulling things from his sleeves, observing them, and then putting them back. Fortunately, none were weapons, because his actions were starting to draw a crowd. Mousse noticed, and then had an idea.

"Oh, Hello, ladies and Gentlemen. I see you were enjoying my little gift… Now… are you ready to be impressed?" he said, sounding almost like some sort of circus barker. His time in the Chinese circus had made him a little of a showman. "You, milady," he said to an attractive woman about his own age, "I would present you with this rose," he said, pulling one out, "but a creature of such beauty deserves so much more." He squeezed the stem of the rose, and the petals exploded, expanding into 2 dozen roses. The woman's eyes went wide as she accepted the roses, and her face began to match the color, bright red. That's when she gave Mousse a bit of a surprise. She grabbed him and gave him a very full kiss on the lips. Once Mousse recovered from his shock, he thought a minute, and said quietly to himself, "Hmm… I believe that I may like being a magician…" He continued on with his show, astounding the small crowd with his feats. When he was finished, he pulled a broad-brimmed, Chinese hat out, and passed it around to the entire small crowd. By the time he had collected from all of the on-lookers, he had quite a bit of money accumulated.

The trouble was, that young lady was still in the area, making very significant glances at him. Mousse then realized he might have chosen the wrong lady to impress, so he hid his money, and quickly departed the area, in search of some place to spend the quickly approaching night. He found a small, cheap motel, and made his way inside. He   
tried not to make eye-contact with the 'ladies' leaning against the wall. Fortunately, he was successful.

The next Morning, Mousse put on another magic show, and collected even more money than before. Apparently, word gotten around about the longhaired illusionist. Mousse now had enough to pay for food and supplies for the trip inland to return to Joketsuzoku. Mousse began thinking about what he was going to do once he got there.

Everyone will know that I've given up on Shampoo… Will I live out my life a hermit? Are all those girls from the village single, or will they try to sic their husbands on me… I never was very popular with the ladies. Will that change now that I am no longer chasing Shampoo? Hmm… I wonder… Did I make the right choice by coming here? Should I have just stayed in Japan? No… I had to get out of there… too many painful memories… besides…. Ranma would have probably tried to get revenge for what I did. Similar thoughts raced through Mousse's head as he entered a small forest on his way to the trail that would lead him through the mountains. From there, he could find Joketsuzoku easily.

As he was leaving the town, he was approached by a young man wearing a white shirt with a Yin-Yang embroidered on the chest. He stood about as tall as Ranma. He had short brown hair with bangs cropped close to his hairline. Another thing Mousse noticed about the boy was the tattoo of a black dragon that started near the boy's shoulder, and ended a few inches past his elbow. He was a few years younger than Mousse, looking to be around 13 or 14. He looked none too friendly, brandishing a staff, and pointing it at Mousse's face. His Grip showed that he was no slouch either. On the end of it was a piece of paper that read I saw you in town. You got a lot of money. I want it. Now. The look in the boy's icy blue eyes showed that he meant business.

Mousse, however, was not to be intimidated. He simply drew a similar staff of his own, and forcibly lowered the boy's staff in one expert move. The boy's counter attack was swift and sure, spinning the opposite end of the staff quickly at Mousse's face. Mousse quickly dodged the attack, assuming his battle stance. The boy slowly edged closer, quite obviously analyzing Mousse's stance, scouting for any possible weaknesses. Mousse realized what the boy was doing, because he was doing the same thing himself. The boy had quite a solid and secure stance that showed both strength, and defense. Whoever had taught him how to use the staff was quite a good teacher.

Mousse and the boy struck at the same time. Their staves collided with one another quite solidly. Their bodies moved quickly, and nearly synchronously as one staff clacked against the other. Then the unexpected happened.

Mousse's staff snapped as the boy slammed his against the exact center. To anyone else this might have meant they were at a disadvantage. Not Mousse, however. he simply changed his grip and stance, and used his brand new pair of singlesticks. When the boy blocked one, the other landed on one of the boy's arms, moving too quickly for him to keep up. The boy all but dropped his guard as Mousse began hitting him with a flurry of small strikes. Mousse stepped back, not wanting to seriously hurt him.

The boy didn't appear hurt however, aside from the bleeding lip. He suddenly leapt forward and launched a series of attacks that Mousse was hard pressed to avoid... Where did this burst of strength come from? He thought as he used all of the acrobatics at his disposal to keep the boy from rendering him unconscious, which he knew  
would happen if he let any of those attacks get through. Mousse jumped as far back as he could, and launched a few dozen chains at the boy, tangling up both weapon and wielder, dropping both to the ground.

Mousse walked up to the boy and put a foot on his chest to stop his struggling. "Look, boy, I have no quarrel with you. If you want the money that bad, have it," he said as he tossed a small change purse to the ground. The boy only scowled at Mousse… it appeared that the boy wanted no handouts. "What do you have to say for yourself then, thief?" The boy's one free hand started to scrawl something in the dirt. I'm deaf. I can't speak. But I can read lips. This immediately intrigued Mousse… The boy had already proven himself to be a masterful fighter… I can make this boy a pupil of mine. He is deaf, so he meets one of the qualifications of the hidden weapons technique… I wonder. How can I convince him to come with me? Mousse stepped back form him as the boy pulled himself up to his feet and free of the chains surrounding himself, "My name is Muu Tsu. I am from the amazon village of Joketsuzoku. I can teach you a way of life that would make stealing quite unnecessary. Are you interested?" in a very slow voice, emphasizing the motions of his lips. The boy looked at him, rolled his eyes, and then pulled out a small notebook and starts writing in it. When he shows the piece of paper to Mousse, it reads, I said I'm deaf, not stupid. Talk normal. And my name is Chang, Student of the Wounded Dragon technique of Self Defense. Yes, I'm interested. I don't like being a thief, but a guy's gotta eat. How the hell did you do that thing with the chains?

"Follow me." Mousse said as he set off. Chang fell into step beside Mousse, watching his face intently. They 'talked' as they walked, and Mousse started describing the art of the hidden weapons technique.

(Meanwhile back in Nerima)

"No, You uncute tomboy! Get away from me! DAD! HELP!!" was heard all over the neighborhood as Ranma begged seemingly for his life.

"Dr. Tofu said you need to eat! NOW EAT UP!" as Akane came closer with her nice steaming bowl of stew. Slime would be more appropriate. Complete with the bits of octopus protruding at unnatural angles. It almost looked like being in the stew was as unpleasant as eating it. Ranma couldn't be positive, but he thought that some of her concoction was moving.

"MOUSSE! Why didn't you just kill me!!? This is TORTURE!"

-WHAP- 

-thud-

Akane Dusted off her mallet, as she muttered, "Baka…" and glowered at Ranma's now unconscious form. She immediately regretted doing it. After the fight with Mousse, Ranma had two cracked ribs, along with a slight hobble when he tried to walk, because of the darts in the pressure points. His movement was almost back to normal, which had surprised Dr. Tofu, but he was still in pretty bad shape.

Ranma came to a couple of minutes later, feeling something quite unusual. Someone was hugging him, but someone who didn't normally do so. The grip was firm, yet gentle, and it wasn't at all unpleasant. Then he heard the voice.

"I'm sorry, Ranma. I didn't stop to think..."

Akane is hugging me? And apologizing for hitting me? Must be the injuries. "Hey.. Hey, It-it's all right, Akane. Jeez, don't overreact like that! I'm not hurt bad." as he tried to extricate himself from the hug, lest prying parental eyes chose the wrong time to come in and try to push the wedding thing on them. Luckily it wasn't Gendo and  
Soun that came in.

It was Shampoo. They knew it was her by the choked sob they heard from the outside doorway, and the muttered Chinese.

"Shampoo sorry... She no mean to intrude... just want help Ranma... Shampoo bring herbs to help Ranma hurts... make all better..." The amazon said, trying her hardest to keep her voice from breaking. She had been like this since her Great-Grandmother had told her that she would have to marry Mousse. Depressed, but surprisingly helpful to   
everyone. But seeing Ranma in Akane's arms just about pushed her over the edge...

"Thanks, Shampoo, but I don't really need them... I'm feeling much better..." Ranma said after an uncomfortable silence. But apparently it was the wrong thing.  
Shampoo collapsed to her knees, screaming out, "SHAMPOO NO WANT MARRY MOUSSE! SHAMPOO JUST WANT MOUSSE AS FRIEND, SHAMPOO WANT RAAAANMAAAAA FOR HUSBAND!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and completely broke down in tears. No one really knew how to react at this point, but Akane surprised them all by walking up to Shampoo and putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Have you told Cologne that?"

Shampoo nodded emphatically, "Everyday! She just say that unless someone beat Mousse, Shampoo still have to marry Mousse." She momentarily brightened, "RANMA!" at which time she leapt to his side, and glomped him fiercely, bringing on a wince of pain. "You go beat Mousse! Then Shampoo can marry her Airen!" and started snuggling until she heard two words that broke her heart completely. 

"No Way."

She moved back and looked at Ranma's face in utter disbelief and shock, as he continued.

"I don't want any more to do with those stupid amazon marriage laws. Mousse beat me, fair and square. I'm not gonna go fight him just because of that. I don't want another fiancee! I don't want ANY fiancees! I didn't choose any of this, and I want out of it as soon as I can! I'm not gonna put myself back in that position again." he said, getting a little indignant. The look on his face told Shampoo that he meant every word of what he just said. His words shocked both Shampoo and Akane, but Shampoo got up, and ran out, crying all the way. This, of course, made Ranma feel like he was about the lowest form of life on the planet. He started to get up, but Akane held him down.

"No way, you're not going out after her, Ranma. You need to rest… Besides… Just let her have this time to herself. I think she needs to get this out of her system."  
Ranma tried to protest, but Akane's hand going into the usual Hiding spot for her Mallet made him reconsider. He just sat down, and felt awful for the rest of the night.

(Elsewhere in Nerima)

Shampoo ran back to the Nekohanten, tears still stinging her eyes. Ranma's words had devastated her, and left her feeling like she had nothing left. First, She had lost Mousse's friendship. That was bad enough. And now, she found out how Ranma really felt about her. He didn't love her… for all Shampoo knew, he didn't even LIKE her. She pushed open the door, wiping the tears from her eyes and stilling her sobbing voice… She knew how much her Great-Grandmother despised hearing such signs of weakness. She was shocked to see Cologne hopping out from the kitchen area, with a rather large suitcase.

"G-great Grandmother… Where you go? You leave Shampoo here by herself?" 

"You are a big girl, Shampoo, You can take care of yourself. I'm going to go find that Lazy good for nothing Mousse, so we can get someone to defeat him in combat. I won't have my bloodline weakened by that blind weakling." The last part said with a scowl.

"Ranma already say he no fight Mousse. Say he no want Shampoo as fiancee anymore." It was all Shampoo could do to keep from crying again. 

"No matter. We can get that Ryouga boy to beat him… He's strong, if a bit stupid… He might make good children…"

"Shampoo no want Lost Boy for husband!"

"Oh, Do you have any other suggestions? Then I'm off to find Mousse. The last place he'd go is Joketsuzoku. He despised his childhood there… The ingrate. And after all I did for him. I'll comb Japan first, and then move on to China. You take care of things here. You'll find all the rest you need for insurance and other things, including food for yourself. Good-bye, Shampoo." And without another word, Cologne was gone.

Shampoo just sat there, her mouth hanging open… Then she screamed out, to no one in particular, in Chinese, no less, "Shampoo will not marry RYOUGA! He is NOT what Shampoo wants! Shampoo wants RANMA! Not Mousse, Not Ryouga, but RANMA!"

After this, she settled back to her tears. Her Childhood came back to her eyes as she cried.


	4. The Training

Mousse's Change of Heart: Chapter 4, The Training.

Author's note: Hello, all. Thank you for being this patient with me. I've had so many distractions and interruptions lately, things have gotten pushed aside for quite a while. But, I'm going to try harder to live up to my promises. The character Ai Xiado is not mine. She was created by a good friend of mine, For simple info: Sifu is the Chinese equivalent to Sensei, or Master Teacher. Well, all that aside, on with the story.

Mousse crested the final hill, and looked down on the village that had been his home for so many years, Joketsuzoku. Chang stood beside him looking expectantly at his new master's face. They had been traveling and training together for the past 2 weeks. Chang was already becoming quite adept in his training. But that was far from Mousse's mind at the moment… right now, he was preparing himself for the hardest thing he had ever done. Returning to Joketsuzoku.

It was in this village that he had vowed never to return, without Shampoo at his side. It was in this village that he had learned to become a warrior, contrary to everyone's wishes, and even everyone's orders. And he had suffered for it. Every girl in the village used him as a training dummy for most of the years he spent training. And why? They knew he wouldn't fight back. It was decided that if Mousse was so set to become a warrior, than he would live as a warrior, not as a normal Amazon male. As such, if he defeated any female, he would have to marry her. That idea was Cologne's.

But that didn't matter now. Personally, he almost hoped they thought he was still the same as when he left. He was in no mood to be cowed by anyone any more. He motioned to Chang for him to follow him into the village. It was then he heard the cry. A familiar voice cried out, "HEY GIRLS! HE'S BACK! MUU TSU IS BACK! GET READY!"  
His sister… Ai Xiado. She was telling the girls of the village to get ready to attack him. Lovely. He'd deal with her later. He turned to Chang, "Get ready, Chang… Amazon Warriors are very skilled. Don't let them fool you with their appearance." His student nodded, and gripped his staff tighter. They walked through the main gate together, ready to defend themselves. But no preparation they knew of could have gotten them ready for what happened.

"MUU TSUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!! AIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!" came from a chorus of cute, charging amazon girls. But they weren't angry, or even appeared to be attacking. They knocked Chang aside, and glomped onto Mousse on every available portion of his body they could hug. While they were cuddling and nuzzleing him, he managed to notice Chang's smirk, then his note. I'd offer my assistance, but you appear to have things Well in hand. He was about to say something to his student, when he heard his sister angrily yelling at the other girls.

"WHAT are you DOING!? You're supposed to be attacking him, so he'll defend himself, and defeat one of you! JEEZ, do any of you know how to LISTEN?!?!?!"

"Shut up, Eyeshadow. We just wanna hug him now. We'll attack him later." Came a voice from the horde of Amazon girls all around him.

"WHAT!?" Mousse yelled, wriggling free of the girls, who were too entangled with each other to do much more than whine when he got away. He stormed over to his sister, "Did… I hear you correctly?" his voice getting an edge sharper than his own sharpest sword. "That you're planning on having these women attack me?"

"Umm… yeah… I figured… just… like I did before you left… if… they attacked you, you'd… defend… And… beat… one… of… them…" her voice getting more and more sheepish as she cowered under her brothers growing glare.

" I don't believe this… I went through years of constant abuse and torture… and it's my own SISTER'S fault?"

Many years ago

Little Eyeshadow sits outside the council chambers, listening in on a meeting, where they had taken her brother. He had caused quite an uproar when he decided to train to become a warrior.

One of the Elders seemed to be making the biggest arguments against it. "He is a MALE! Men's places are in the home, taking care of their daughters, and fixing meals for their hardworking wives. Then again, what more could I expect from him, considering his FAMILY..."

The man who had been training Mousse spoke up, "What one's family does has little or no relation to what one chooses to do with one's life. Besides, It all stems from your great-granddaughter, Elder Cologne. She said she only wanted a Strong man as her husband… So Mousse wants to become strong for her. Even you can see the boy is head over heals in love with her."

"LOVE MATTERS NOT! MOUSSE IS BREAKING OUR SACRED TRADITIONS!" came Elder Cologne's bellow. "If Mousse is to become strong, Then he will be regarded as an outsider. If he wants a wife of Any Amazon girl, then he must defeat her in combat. Are we all in agreement…"

A general murmur from through the window told Eyeshadow that they were all in agreement.

"Then it is settled. Mousse Will not be allowed to marry ANY amazon girl… Unless he first is able to defeat her."

Eyeshadow ran away from the hut, to watch from behind another hut as Mousse and his master came out the door. She couldn't help but be impressed by his trainer. The man was a Giant! But he moved as if he weighed no more than a feather. Even more surprising, was that he was completely blind. No one knew what his eyes looked like, since he always wore a black silk band around his eyes. What caught everyone's attention, aside from his HUGE build, was his hair… it flowed in long, silvery gray strands down almost to his feet. His robes' sleeves ended just past his elbows, but even Eyeshadow knew that the man had more weapons hidden up just ONE sleeve than the entire village had put together. This outsider was someone everyone but Mousse avoided.

"Don't worry, Mousse. I have a feeling most girls in this village would rather be defeated for their hand than not. Especially that Shampoo girl. She seems adamant about it."

"But I don't wanna hit her, Sifu. I love her. It's wrong to hit the people you love. I know it is."

"Mousse… You have no idea how good it does this old heart to hear you say that."

Eyeshadow didn't hear any more. She was too busy running home… She couldn't believe it… her own brother, deemed an outsider… And all because of that Shampoo girl! She hated the way Mousse pined over her, often confessing his undying love to her.. or what his poor eyes thought were her. Eyeshadow KNEW her brother deserved better, and wouldn't rest until he had better.

On her way, she learned she wasn't the only girl who had been checking up on Mousse.

"If Mousse attacked ME for my hand," she heard a young girl say, "I don't know how much of a defense I'd put up."

"What do you mean, Conditioner?" asked a friend of hers.

"He's GORGEOUS! That's what I mean! If he even thumped me, I'd probably just lay down and say he beat me. Then he'd be ALL mine!"

"No way, girl, Mousse is MINE!"

The pair continued to argue over who would get Mousse as they walked away. Eyeshadow would later consider this both her greatest moment of inspiration, and her greatest mistake. "HEY GIRLS! Wait up! I've got an Idea!"

Now…

"Every day of my life, up until I left this village… I would be attacked Savagely by at LEAST one girl… Often they came at me in groups… I always wondered whose idea it was, to inflict such pain on me… And then I learn it's my own SISTER!!" The last word Yelled In the girl's face.

"I figured you would have at least BLOCKED, Mousse… But you just let them hit you…"

"You don't think I heard their plans a time or two? I knew if I made ANY combative moves, I'd be forced to marry one of them. Gods, Ai Xiado… Didn't you CONSIDER the possibility that I wouldn't give up that easily?"

"Well… no…" she sheepishly admitted.

Mousse was about to say something more to her, when a hand tapped his shoulder. He turned to face Chang, who held up a note saying, Hey, Mousse? I'm kinda tired after that hike. Where are we staying?

"Huh? Oh… Hmm… Eyeshadow, Is my master still living in the village? Eyeshadow?" he looked at his sister, and discovered the source of her silence. She was staring… no Drooling was more appropriate… at Chang.

"WOW! Mousse! Who's your friend?!" as she hopped between Mousse and Chang, "HI! I'm Eyeshadow, Mousse's little sister! What's your name? Ooo, Nice Tattoo! Are you single?"

Chang… blinked a time or two… And began to write… I'm Chang. Could you talk slower please? I'm deaf, but I read lips.

Mousse shook his head, and rolled his eyes, as his sister began to flirt with his new student. He began to question his sanity in returning, but didn't have much time to do so. The horde of amorous Amazons was coming in for another glomp attack. Now, All Mousse could do is run.

Back in Nerima

Shampoo was having her favorite dream, in which she was laying back, head in Ranma's lap, as he fed her grapes. She closed her eyes and felt his hand stroking her cheek lovingly. She opened her eyes to stare up into his face, but things had changed. Now, instead of Ranma, it was Mousse's face she was looking into. Aiya… When Mousse… get so handsome? her dream-self pondered as Mousse leaned down and kissed her tenderly on the lips. It was then that the dream took a VERY different turn from her usual dream that involved Mousse. And Shampoo didn't mind one bit.

When Shampoo awoke, some time later, she looked up at the ceiling, wondering, Why Mousse have to make everything so hard? Before, Was simple… Mousse stupid weakling, who always lose. Now, Mousse strong… Even beat Ranma. And everyone else in town, too. Why Mousse be so difficult? Should have give up when Shampoo turn down First time…

Her thoughts continued like that for quite some time, as she got dressed, went downstairs, and openned up the doors for the temporary help. Shampoo was a good cook, but she couldn't run the whole business by herself. She hired the new people about 3 weeks ago, shortly after Cologne left to find Mousse. The day went by slowly, as they all did. Business was like usual. But Shampoo felt so empty lately. She'd lost her Fiance, and her only true friend almost a month ago, and things hadn't improved since then. After closing time, she sat in her room, as she did almost every night, and thought about things more. For some reason, the image of her and Mousse kissing, among other things, kept showing up in her train of thought.

She shook her head, No, Aiya, No… Shampoo no want Mousse like THAT… He just friend… Just male friend… just Good looking male friend… Aiya…… just really, really good-looking, studly, strong, smart, sweet… "AIYA SHAMPOO MISS MOUSSE!" she screamed to her ceiling as her thoughts revealed to her the REASON she'd been so miserable lately.

Back in Joketsuzoku

Mousse sneezed, and kept running.

Nerima

Shampoo grumbled to herself for the rest of the night, as she looked through every picture she had, trying to find the one she was looking for… And there it was… the one she had taken from Mousse's room after she destroyed everything. The picture of the Nekohanten staff, taken by Ranma. She looked at Mousse's face. His eyes glowed with the anger he felt for Ranma, but his smile was all Shampoo wanted to see… the smile he gave her so many times… and she was dumb enough to ignore. Why hadn't she ever NOTICED how handsome he was? Why hadn't she ever been nice to him for a change?

She put the picture away, back at the bottom of her stack of photographs. She wiped at her burning eyes, as she walked slowly back over to her bed.  
"Mousse…"She whispered in Chinese, "Wherever you are… I hope you're happy…"

China

Mousse and Chang were both panting heavily as they lay down in Mousse's master's hut. The tall man came out from the back, "I hope you realize that they'll eventually check out my hut…" he said with a chuckle. The huge man hadn't changed much since Mousse had known him. He was still the huge, powerful man with the warm smile that Mousse trained under, and even lived with, to get away from his mother and sister's plots to get him both With Shampoo, and away from her, respectively. "But you two should be safe here for a while. Care to introduce me to your friend, Mousse?"

"This is Chang, Sifu. He's my new student."

"Student… Does that mean you're wearing the black robes now?" with a smile on his face. The man's pride was easily obvious. His Prize pupil had now become a master. "Almost makes me wish my eyes worked like yours did, Mousse. What's… that sound? What are you writing, Chang?"

Mousse read the note Chang showed him. "Chang is deaf, Sifu. He speaks by writing notes. He hears, by feeling vibrations in the ground, the movement of the wind, and by lipreading. He's asking why you wear that blindfold, if you're already blind?"

"Simple, my young friend… The blindfold is to hide my scar. That is why I am blind. My eyes were slashed during a fight when I was a young man, brash, and arrogant. I fought with a master-martial artist… and he repaid my impertinence by cutting out my eyes."

"He says that's awful."

"It was, for a while. Then I heard about the hidden weapons technique, and began studying it extensively. I even found a master to instruct me. Eventually, I was released from my master to complete my training. You see, lad, the key to the Hidden weapons technique is in that it is Unique to every student. No two bodies are alike, so every student must find their own way of hiding their weapons. All either Mousse, or I can teach you… is the basics of weapons fighting, and new techniques for hiding the weapons. The true strength of the technique is the imagination of the master. You are limited only by your imagination. Everything is a weapon. Tables, make excellent shields and Clubs. Feathers, Excellent diversionary tactic, to leave your opponent open to attack. Dust blinds most opponents. Stuffed animals, like most children sleep with, are easily used to smother an opponent. If it's heavy, it can be a club. If it's sharp, it can be a blade. Our goal is to find what everything COULD be."  
Mousse Loved it when his master gave that speech.

"So, Sifu, what should we do now?" Mousse asked, when the pause told him his master was finished.

"What else, Mousse? Give him the bag of smoke pellets." The man said with a smile. He pulled out a large duffle bag, and handed it to the boy. If it were not for the scarf around the man's eyes, Chang would swear the man could see. He knew exactly where Chang's hands were. Chang's questioning glance must have told Mousse what was on his mind.

"Chang, He hears the sound of your pencil on your paper. His ears are as good as your eyes, and your sense of touch." Mousse said with a smile. "Sifu, this is going to be an interesting arrangement… two blind men, and a deaf one…"

"Not too odd… My master was deaf. We worked it out by using braile, and other things… but we have you, Mousse. You can be our go between. I'll ring the bell if we need you." Mousse shuddered.

"You still have that thing?"

"Of course… a bell so loud it can be heard for miles around."

Mousse groaned, "And if I'm just outside, it's deafening…"

Chang and Sifu Chuckled. Chang's laugh was completely silent, but the motions of his body were just like he was laughing hysterically. Mousse hung his head. This was going to be a hard training process.

End, chapter 4, to be continued.


	5. Reunions

Much time had passed in Nerima

Chapter 5: Mousse's Change of Heart

Reunions

"But Sifu!" Came Mousse's plea. His teacher had laid quite a bombshell on him. He knew, however that his master would absolutely not change his mind. 

"I've made up my mind, Mousse. We're going to Nerima. Your stories of it have inspired me. We need to have a style that can adapt to stand against other styles. Isn't that the whole purpose of the hidden weapons technique? Always be ready for anything?" The giant of a man turned around, to point himself in Mousse's direction. It made it feel like he was at least acknowledging Mousse. "And don't worry about money. I'm prepared for that as well. We'll go, and go comfortably. Nerima sounds like it's an exciting place."

"It's also where Shampoo is! And Cologne. I'm… not ready to face either of them, especially after what I said to them."

"It's been a year, Mousse. You've had time to get your head and emotions straight… Your student is advancing rapidly… as rapidly as you did. Taking him there will force him to adapt his style to counter a multitude of different schools of fighting. I wish I had taken you there myself. I even have a fairly expansive piece of Property already purchased, that we can use as a training facility. Chang can even set up those confounded wires of his."

Sifu Really didn't like Chang's method of hearing summons from other rooms. He had a trail of wires that he kept tight throughout the house. When you want to contact him, pluck one of them, and he will come soon. Sifu was still trying to get used to them. When your navigation depends on your ability to know where everything is, a change like that can make things… difficult.

Mousse sighed… and gave in. Now, he had to tell the student and his sister. Mousse reached over and plucked a string, to call his student. He was surprised when both people he had to tell came from the direction of Chang's room. She was blushing, and he was grinning… both stopped, when they both saw Mousse's eyebrow arching over his glasses. This wasn't a happy look.

"And what might you two have been up to, in there? Nothing a Proud Amazon Girl would be Ashamed to have her MOTHER know about?"

Eyeshadow shook her head vehemently, "Nonononono! I was just helping Chang with his lip reading…" which Chang agreed with…

Mousse leaned in close… she blushed… he grinned… "It's hard to read lips while you're kissing. I won't tell Mother about this… Just… don't let things get out of hand? Please?"

The conversations were covered by his sister's giggle's, and his student's hastily written replys.

Meanwhile, In Nerima…

Shampoo had just closed down her new restaurant, down by the waterfront, from it's first week of business… She was amazed. Once She had her focus on keeping the restaurant running, instead of Matrimony, she was amazed by the amount of Money it was bringing in. She still lived at the other restaurant, but this one was opened because she frankly couldn't stay ahead of all the demand. The restaurant was packed every day. Both of them were. 

"Aiyaa… How much Money did Great Grandmother throw away trying to catch Ranma?" she wondered aloud in her slightly better Japanese. Cologne was still gone, searching Japan for Mousse, to Bring him back for Shampoo to Marry, so they could go back to Joketsuzoku, and live their lives with Mousse living the life of a good little man-slave, also known as a 'husband'.

Little did Cologne know that Shampoo wanted something different. Since Shampoo had been running things, she discovered that She had a few good business instincts. She had hired mainly attractive, young, fresh out of high school girls for delivery and waitresses, cute boys of the same age to work as Busboys, and had even set up delivery contracts with a few local businesses.

When she got home, on her bicycle, she went upstairs, as she usually did. She went through her nightly routine of shower, and stretching. She even went through a few Katas, just to keep herself up to par, as far as fighting went. She laid down in her bed, and looked over at the final part of her nightly routine. She picked up the picture from Mousse's room, and looked at it, long, and hard. Trying to imagine Mousse's smile in the picture as Genuine. She missed that smile… That face… She remembered the times she had seen him out of his robes, while practicing... "Mousse… why you have to go and turn Handsome overnight? Why not just stay skinny, blind boy from village?" She set the picture down, as her mind pondered what it would feel like to be held by those arms, feel those fingers in her hair, those lips on hers… All her imaginings led to one long sigh , and the one word she could think of that summed it all up. "Aiyaaaaaa…"

Time Passes… 

Chang sat on top of the Warehouse he called home. He and Mousse had moved here from China some months ago. For some reason, Sifu had insisted that Ai Xiado and himself also come. Something about Mousse needing to complete his training. He mumbled the rest, and Chang couldn't read his lips. He was confused, but didn't question it. He had progressed in his art quite a bit… His specialty was staff weapons… He had modified about fifty collapsible staves, which he was now wearing up his sleeves and pant legs. Some other weapons, such as knives, and shuriken had found their way into his arsenal. He was also developing skills with whips. His unarmed fighting was also coming along nicely. But Mousse wasn't moving quite as well in that respect. He still depended too greatly on his weapons, and couldn't progress beyond them.

His train of thought was derailed when he felt something… He had set up a series of wires, that connected at this very spot where he was sitting. Almost like a spider's web. Mousse had almost insisted he not be alone on the roof, with no way to know when someone was coming. Something about visitors tending to arrive via rooftops.Again, he didn't question it. So he got up, and slowly looked in the direction of the vibration… to see a young man, near Mousse's age, collapsed in a heap on the roof. He appeared to have just landed… quite hard, too. 

Chang picked him up, and quickly made his way to the doorway. He ran down the stairs, thinking this person must be in pretty bad shape, if he had been thrown to the rooftop. Chang pulled a bell from a sleeve, and began ringing it loudly, trying to get the attention of those inside. That was when he got the fist in the face…

Elsewhere…

Mousse stood in front of his master, wearing only his pants, and not wearing a single weapon. Quite a feat, when he hadn't done that in quite a few years. But Sifu had insisted. "The Body is a Superior weapon to any that you can hold.You've got to learn to fight without them. You brought Chang here, so he could be exposed to many different types of martial arts… yet you have not used any yourself. Time to expand yourself beyond the weapons…" His master stood in a similar state, although Sifu was Much more intimidating, than Mousse. He was at least 6'3'' and was as muscular as any bodybuilder. His stances were solid, secure, and more than anything else, skilled. 

"Why didn't you try and teach me this before? When I didn't have so many habits to break?" he muttered to himself. He stood in his most familiar fighting stance, but he still felt naked without his weapons. 

"Because the amazons were always watching. Now… attack me! Use the skills I taught you!" The man had to be well in his sixties, but had stayed in better condition than anyone else he'd known. The only indication of his age was the long, white hair that flowed around him, as he skillfully dodged all of Mousse's attacks. Mousse tried punching, and kicking, even his more complex attacks, but all were avoided... except for the Ostrich Kick… which was caught. Mousse scowled, and spun his other leg around, losing his patience, and forgetting that he was fighting his master. 

His attacks became sharper, stronger, fiercer… but his focus slipped… he didn't notice the palm-heel-strike that caught him in the stomach.

"Better. You are improving. But not enough… If you truly want to wear the master's robes, you must learn to Always keep a tight control over yourself." The old Giant pulled his gloves on, and went towards his robe. "On another topic… when is your sister supposed to return from the store? I'm feeling a little hungry." 

Mousse groaned a little, still trying to catch his breath. His master never was one to hold back. "In a few minutes… Just enough time for me to take a breather…" then Mousse and Sifu perked up… they heard Chang running, and ringing the bell. Something was wrong… Then they heard the sounds of combat… and both took off running for the stairwell… 

Chang stood his ground against his assailant. He didn't know what this person's deal was… {Here I am trying to help, when he punches me in the face? There's gratitude for ya…} but of course… he said nothing. Because he couldn't talk. The stranger was in front of him, blue eyes glaring back at his. They were on a twenty foot landing, so both could stand and look at each other, without being to close. The stranger was saying something… 

[Alright, buddy, who do you think you are? And where were you taking me?]

Chang wanted to get his pad and pencil out, and write down a response, but when he reached behind himself, he barely had time to dodge the attack that was aimed at his head. {Great… he thinks I'm reaching for a weapon… Alright, dude… Time to get serious…} Chang remembered his old training… from before he met Mousse… and the stranger's fist hit home, right in the middle of Chang's chest.

He felt it… the energy of pain… How it flowed through him… The essence of the Wounded Dragon style was to draw power from pain… whether to heal wounds, or to increase strength. Chang saw the surprised expression on the stranger's face, when the blow seemed to have no effect.He punched again… and again, all the while, Chang hardly blinked. The blows were strong, and quite skilled. Against anyone else, they'd be rather effective.

Chang merely smiled, and let his training take over. The stranger's speed increased, as he said something strange… Chang wasn't paying attention. He was more focused on keeping the energy flowing how it needed to. Some to healing… some to strength… Then he started fighting back. Time seemed to slow down, as he flowed into a smooth series of attacks, from punches, to kicks, to staff strikes… his opponent was hard pressed to dodge them. They began trading blows at almost a blinding speed. 

This kept up for a few minutes. Neither of them seemed to make any kind of progress against the other. Chang was always just absorbing the stranger's blows. The stranger dodged or blocked most of Chang's attacks.

Then, catching them all by surprise, a flash exploded in the middle of them, and, through the spots in his eyes, Chang was able to see the stranger knocked back and bound by a chain. He then felt Sifu's hands grab him and hold him back. After that, he wasn't aware of anything.

Mousse, however, was standing over The stranger's form. "I knew I'd eventually run into you here, Ranma Saotome. What are you doing here? Answer me!" as a sword appeared in his hand, and was held at Ranma's throat… 

Inanother portion of Nerima, Akane was holding her mallet, and wondering why she had just hammered Ranma into the skyline… Oh yeah… He had just pointed out Shampoo's new restaurant. {Old habits die hard. Shampoo just… pushes all my buttons the wrong way… Now I have to find Ranma… I think.. Yes, he landed on that old Warehouse over there.} 

She made her way over, through a few side-alleys to find her way to the front door… that was… Open? Funny... she was expecting to have to break in, to get to the top floor. Oh well, best to take the easy road. She went in, and immediately heard Ranma's battle cry, "Kachu-Tenshin-AMIGURIKEN!" and general sounds of combat… She also thought she saw someone running up some stairs. 

{Uh oh… He might be in trouble… I'd better follow…} She cautiously crept along the wide-open floor, noting an unusually large cache of weapons scattered along the walls, and floor. Her mallet in hand, she climbed the stairs, gripping tightly, as she went into who knows what odds, against someone Ranma had to use the Chestnut-Fist against… {Love makes you do strange things, sometimes…} She rounded the last corner, where she saw a Giant man, with hair that almost brushed the floor, holding back a youth with shoulder length hair, and a very familiar person holding a sword to Ranma's neck. 

"Aw, Geez… Mousse?! What're you doin' here? And who're these people? Especially the kid there… He packs a meaner punch than Ryouga, on a GOOD day…" Ranma rubbed his chin, where a glanceing blow had caught him. Ranma knew that if he had been caught straight on by that punch, it would have been the end of the fight for him. 

"Sifu… Meet Ranma Saotome… I told you about him. I think I can guess how he arrived, from the mark on his head… Akane got a bigger mallet, didn't she?"

"So this is Ranma… then that means the young lady holding a large hammer, approaching from the left, would be Akane." Mousse had to smile at his master's timing. Akane was about to brain him with her Mallet, but was stopped at the end of a long staff, in the middle of her mallet's striking surface. "Quite a bit of power, young lady, but absolutely no subtlety at all." He twisted his wrist a little, and caused the precariously perched Akane to stumble over, ending up beside Ranma.

"Ranma, Akane… Meet my Sifu, Whose name is a mystery to all but himself, and my student, Chang, who has the unique ability to absorb pain as a fuel for power. I'd advise you not to hit him with the Amiguriken again, Ranma… you probably wouldn't like the results." The two waved a little, not sure whether or not they were in trouble.

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEY! BIG BROTHER!!!! I'M BAAAAAAAAAAACK! EVERYBODY HUNGRY!?"

Mousse sighed… "When will my sister learn that Chang is the only deaf one here…?"

**=**An hour or so later = 

Akane sat back, "That was great, Eyeshadow. You're a great cook." Everyone had shared a meal, to catch up with everyone, and get to know the new people. Mousse wasn't quite finished… he was kind of babying his stomach. Everyone was sharing a bit of tea, as they talked.

"Well, I wish I could claim the credit, but everything's take out, from a new chain restaurant, around the corner… The recipes taste just like Amazon recipes for these things. Funny name though… The Cat Café."

Cue Spit take from Mousse. "WHAT?! What were you doing across town!? You weren't gone THAT long!"

"Umm, I thought your hearing was better than that, Big Brother… I said I was just around the corner. It's a new chain. They said they were getting a branch in Tokyo, soon. I didn't feel like cooking, so I picked up some take-out." Eyeshadow explained, with a confused expression. "What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is that Cologne might know where I am, now! This is bad… I knew we shouldn't have come back here!"

"Yo, Mousse, calm down. Cologne's been gone for over a year, and a half. Shampoo's turned into Nabiki's favorite investment. The Cat Café has Boomed. It's the most popular restaurant in all Nerima. Since most of their money isn't being spent on repairs, anymore, it's amazing what they can afford to do." Ranma's comments seemed to calm Mousse down.

"Shampoo's… really doing that well for herself?" he asked, once he had digested all that information.

Akane nodded, "There's only one thing. Every time someone I know sees her, they say she looks kind of depressed. It's not about Ranma, though… We ran into her a few days ago, and she just waved a little, said Nihao, and went on her way. I'm… starting to accept her…"

"Then whyd'ja knock me into the Warehouse district for pointing out her new restaurant?"

**=**WHAP! Splash!=

Ranma burbled from his new position, face first in a bowl of wonton soup. "I said STARTING to! Doesn't mean I like her yet!"

A small note landed in his lap. Mousse read Chang's handwriting, and chuckled a little. "Chang asks if you're at all related to the Amazons. He's remarking on your treatment of your boyfriend."

Ranma's head perked up a little, the bowl still attached. He removed it, then said, "Akane the Amazon? That might explain a few things."

Things kind of went downhill from there.

=A short distance away=

Shampoo stared out the window of her office in the new restaurant. She could have sworn she had seen Eyeshadow leaving with a few bags of take out… What could this mean? What was she doing here? Was… Mousse here too? Could he be back? A million other questions raced through her mind, as she got out of her chair, put away the receipts from last night, and started heading out the door. She told her Secretary that she was going for a walk, and to expect her back within a couple of hours. The fact that Shampoo even had a secretary now, despite the fact that she needed one six months ago, still amazed her. She started walking down the street, tracking the way she had seen Ai Xiado leaving. She had to know… If the man she loved were this close, nothing could keep her away.

=Back at the Warehouse=

Mousse was walking to the door of the warehouse, with Akane and Ranma. "Sorry about the sword at your throat. Some old habits die hard. And the fact that I saw you fighting with my student didn't help matters either."

"Hey, don't worry about it. That kid's one tough customer, though… Ya might wanna think about the upcoming All-styles tournament, next month. He'd go far… maybe even win it all. Think about it, Mousse." Ranma said with one last wave, He and Akane left the gates, and started their way to a bus stop, to head back to their side of town. Mousse looked out at the setting sun. Surprisingly, his afternoon, with Ranma and Akane had been most pleasant. Very enjoyable. He might have to pay the Dojo a visit sometime soon.

His train of thought was interrupted by the sounds of a struggle nearby…

Shampoo had lost track of Eyeshadow some time ago… She had called in, and told her secretary she had decided to take the rest of the day off, for personal reasons. She had checked every house, being as stealthy as she possibly could. No houses in this area were recently moved into. And no mail boxes had Chinese names at all. She was starting into the warehouse district, and getting close to the old, abandoned one, when a large hand landed on her shoulder. 

"Hey, pretty lady… Whatcha up to?" came a large, gruff voice, accompanied by hot, fairly rancid breath. She spun around, out of the grip. A huge, unkempt man, with a large gut, but larger muscles on his arms was looking at her with a look that made her shiver. He was accompanied by three associates, that were no cleaner than their spokesman. All were looking at her with lustful sneers. 

"I-I'm looking for an old friend…" She cursed herself for that stutter… but nothing scared her more than the thought of someone doing what these men obviously wanted. She felt herself backing up, trying to put some distance between herself and the small group. 

They started closing the gap, slowly, "How about a few new ones… We'll be real friendly…" as the leader drew a knife from behind him. Shampoo felt the chill run down her spine. She'd always been told what outsider men were like… Ranma and Ryouga and none of the other men she had met had fit the description, but these four certainly did. They only wanted one thing from her, and didn't care what it took for them to get it. 

"Y-you mean to take me by force…? S-shampoo no go easy on stupid men…"

"Shampoo? It's that rich chick from China with a funny name… We'll get more than just a piece of tail from this one…" one of the others commented as they kept advancing.They were all holding knives, and making every step count. Shampoo kept retreating. The leader chimed in, "Ya don't say? Well, if she behaves, maybe we'll let her live…"

Shampoo's retreat was interrupted when she tripped over a garbage can, falling square on her back. A small scream escaped her throat, as she started crawling backwards, too scared to try and push herself up. The sneering men just drew closer. Shampoo was paralyzed with fear, eyes locked on the face of the leader. She was probably going to die, right after they were done raping her… She closed her eyes, awaiting the inevitable.

The chuckling from the leader ended with a strangled gasp. She opened her eyes to see his face turning bright purple, and his fingers clawing at his throat. His companions turned around at the sound of a man's voice… "You will leave now, or you'll live to regret it." The voice sounded so familiar… but her mind was still paralyzed with fear. A black blur Dashed towards the three remaining punks, and stopped, only long enough to hook the closest one behind his legs, and knock him to the ground, planting the butt of the staff in the middle of the punk's forehead. The would-be rapist was unconscious before he even knew what hit him.

The leader was on his knees, disentangling a wire from around his throat. A small trickle of blood was oozing down his throat. He struggled to regain his breathing, and the knife he had dropped. While this was happening, Another of his partners fell from a knee to the face, followed by a kick from the black-blur's trailing foot. Again, Down in less than five seconds. The leader muttered a curse, and pushed himself to his feet. As he did, His last flunky was dropped with a strike from a staff to the midsection. The staff came up, in a vicious arc, right across the face. The stranger finally stopped moving, right in front of the leader, pointing the end of a spear at the man's throat. "You will get up, and you will run away. If you don't, they won't find enough of you for the police to identify." The man's voice never changed its tone, which was chilling enough to start with. The large, fat, muscular man, who was so intimidating before… Ran away, with blood on his shirt, and another bodily fluid saturating his pants. 

Shampoo was still sitting on the dirty ground, in one of her best business suits, hair slightly disheveled , and openly gawking at her rescuer. He bore an uncanny resemblance to the very same person she had come here seeking. His eyes were even closed. "Miss, are you alright? I hope I arrived before those ruffians had a chance to hurt you…" The voice… then those eyes opened. That stormy blue. It had to be… It couldn't be anyone but…

"M-mousse?" Her voice had a timid, school-girl quality, that complimented her squeaky soprano in a most embarrassing way. "Is that you?" her voice didn't improve, as she discovered the was trembling. 

His eyes blinked, and those glasses came out of his sleeve. The composure cracked, and he stumbled back, "Sh-sh-sh-sh-sh-shampoo!?"

End Chapter 5

Author's notes: HAHAHA!!!FINALLY Finally I have written the scene that's been in my head for over two years! The scene that made the REST of the story! I want to thank all of you readers who have put up with me for the last few years of reading. This one chapter was rewritten no less than ten times, and survived two folder-purges. But Finally it is finished. The next chapter… will be up when I can do it. Yeah, yeah, I know what yer saying. But THIS one, I've had planned out, since I created Chang. It SHOULD move along fairly quickly. Anyway, thank you all for reading, And chapter 6 will be the Final chapter, drawing my first fanfiction to a close.


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